Database Users

FAQ - What do YOU need root for?

Well we need root for mostly everything people are requesting. I will list a few.
-Flash Light using camera led(s)
-Different Lockscreen
-720p Video recording
-Editing buttons to wake the phone up instead of just unlock button
-Changing the light/proximity senor sensitivity
-Apps2SD
-Different launcher/access to plain vanilla(removing sense)
I see threads everyday. Asking for something someone can do on a rooted phone. Until you see a HOW TO - Rooting the incredible...well nothing is going to be developed specifically to enhance the incredible.
I thought considering this is Verizons first superphone it may become popular and we will end up with a ton of tweens and 40 somethings that don't know much asking the same questions google or search could of answered.
I am sure I missed a ton but thats just off the top of my head.
I know this just adds one more to the clutter but maybe it will help.
Also the above things are not guaranteed to happen when root does BUT most of it can be done. With the help from custom .apks and scripts etc.

You mean, "What do YOU need root for?"
Rooting is no guarantee for all of the functionality you listed.
Where is this FAQ link?

i'd like to be able to unixy things like create hard links. do i need root for this...? when i tried to use a console app it said NO ROOT basically.
edit: nevermind i was being dumb you can do hard links sans root. just doesn't work from internal storage to sdcard . it says "link failed Cross-device link"

also need root for barnacle and overclocking

Honestly77 said:
Well we need root for mostly everything people are requesting. I will list a few.
-Flash Light using camera led(s)
-Different Lockscreen
-720p Video recording
-Editing buttons to wake the phone up instead of just unlock button
-Changing the light/proximity senor sensitivity
-Apps2SD
-Different launcher/access to plain vanilla(removing sense)
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If these are the reasons for rooting this phone I would not wasted my time and take a chance at bricking my phone for this.
I had a rooted G1 and loved it, but there was better reasons to root the G1 and this phone does everything my rooted G1 did.

I look forward to wireless tethering, had it on my g1 and my Droid. Sure there are alternatives like pdanet but always seems that I dont have a usb cord when I need it

yep, wireless tethering is the thing I mostly look for.

I want wifi access point internet sharing without having to pay for tethering. Already can do USB connection with information found here at XDA but enabling bluetooth and/or wifi would be awesome!

If those are your only reasons to root, I can save you a couple:
To get a different lockscreen, try out this app:
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.jackdoit.lockbot
The paid version gives a lot more customization options, but the free version is really good as well.
You also don't need rooting for a flashlight, just an app to be written. So far the only flashlight app for the Incredible (I am waiting for one as well) is $1 and only makes the screen turn white:
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.flashlight.htcincredibleflashlight
I am sure an LED flashlight app will be out soon (actually if the market is any indication a few will be out and some probably for free).

A Bluetooth stack that supports Serial Port Profile (SPP) so that I can connect my 5hz Bluetooth GPS!

- Custom ROMs
- Custom root-only apps
- More custom icons/sounds/themes
- Better tether options
- Access to utilize hardware features better
..just to name a few

Someone mentioned overclocking, but underclocking is also a desire to extend battery life.

Dad's not happy

Hi there,
my dad sold his iPhone 3GS for a Samsung Galaxy S i9000. Coming from an iPhone, I first had to show him the amazing richness of possibilities you have on Android compared to an iPhone and after he overcame his old knowledge of "one button, one app", he was quite pleased with some of Androids merits. However, all in all, he's missing some important features he used to have on his iPhone and he has some problems:
A) Most important of all, pretty much a deal breaker if he can't get it fixed soon: SIP. We tried several different clients, and for example we even tried the latest (non-market) version of csipsimple and we found bug reports for the Galaxy S and adjusted the mic/speaker volumes accordingly but it's still really bad: For local calls the quality is reasonable. It's a bit stuttery at times but people can talk. It's much worse than on his iPhone though. But what's really annoying him is the fact that calls to foreign countries are a no-go. The added quality drop to long distance calls make it very hard for the other party to hear him (All over wifi btw). Please, does anyone know a sure-fix, exact-settings-listing for some SIP app for Android?
B) Also a very important thing to him is a calendar. But both the Samsung calendar as well as the original Android one don't have a good week-view. The original one doesn't have one, the Samsung one doesn't show titles on tasks. I find it ludicrous, it's just boxes without titles... Ideally, he wishes to have a week view similar to what I have on my N900:
Sorry, can't embed the image because I'm a new user:
h t t p ://login.icu.uzh.ch/~archer/Screenshot-20101116-182459.png
There's more but especially the SIP is really bugging him. He absolutely needs it to work reliably or he'll need to sell the device.
Thanks.

TB2 said:
Hi there,
B) Also a very important thing to him is a calendar. But both the Samsung calendar as well as the original Android one don't have a good week-view.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Try Calendar Pad from the market in week view

What exactly is SIP? According to wiki, it's just a voice over internet protocol. Can you not use skype?

my wifi signal on 2.1 and 2.2 are the same. cellphones are not the same as laptop that has higher power to transmit data far away and and large space for antennas for receiving signal. if you look at wifi routers they got huge antennas. i don't think you can fit that in a phone.
i read a few months ago that iphone has problems on signal bcause of bad design : )
if you want software you've got a lot of choices in the market.

Try Sipdroid.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/sipdroid-voip-video-calling/org.sipdroid.sipua

all off topic comments trashed
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=9283203

Um... Poor daddy? Sorry cheeky I know but sgs is for people who like to tinker and find cool mods even simple apps like the plethora of gre calendar apps he could use right now. Seasoned iphone users especially of the older generation often don't get, the nerdy thrill that we do with the customisations and work necessary to fully realise the potential of sgs and andriod in general
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

TB2 said:
Hi there,
...................
A) Most important of all, pretty much a deal breaker if he can't get it fixed soon: SIP. We tried several different clients, and for example we even tried the latest (non-market) version of csipsimple and we found bug reports for the Galaxy S and adjusted the mic/speaker volumes accordingly but it's still really bad: For local calls the quality is reasonable. It's a bit stuttery at times but people can talk. It's much worse than on his iPhone though. But what's really annoying him is the fact that calls to foreign countries are a no-go. The added quality drop to long distance calls make it very hard for the other party to hear him (All over wifi btw). Please, does anyone know a sure-fix, exact-settings-listing for some SIP app for Android?
......................
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Sipdroid and VYKE as SIP provider. No echo, no cutting and only 30 seconds to set up. Can use WiFi or 3G. I do not use any PBXes.

the latest custom ROMs are really showing Pro
and performances are very quick
I'll recomend installing the DOC's ROM for SGS and use SipDroid for the voice chat
there are tons of Calendar options in the market, just take your time to review which one you like best

TB2 said:
Hi there,
..................
B) Also a very important thing to him is a calendar. But both the Samsung calendar as well as the original Android one don't have a good week-view. The original one doesn't have one, the Samsung one doesn't show titles on tasks. I find it ludicrous, it's just boxes without titles...
..............
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Egg 'n stone CalWidget. You can customice as You like. Size the Widget 4x1, 4x2, 4x3, 4x4......, choose a calander to view (MyCalendar, Google Calender.....), how long time ahead, layout and colors as You like, transparancy, and it's free.
I guess if Your father is a former iPhone user, he does not know how a widget work, try to explain to him.

Allright thanks everyone for the suggestions!
Dad's pleased with CalendarPad. Nice overview and the widget does a good job as well.
We installed sipdroid today and for local calls it seems to work well. Will check soon if we have the same problems as with csipsimple regarding long distance calls.
By the way... What is it with the "want an iphone, get an iphone" attitude in this forum. I clearly mentioned that he likes some of Android's merits and I asked two specific questions which I think I can expect from any modern smartphone, not just the iphone (working SIP and flexible calendar), the second of which btw is a downside of the iPhone because of all the sandboxing going on on an iphone. Anyway, you seem to be pretty quick on the "it's an iphone-loser" button.
Anyway, I've got a third and fourth question:
C) Is it normal that the battery lasts about 1.5 days with no IM or SIP services running? Only a calendar and the shipped-with weather widget. Is there some hack to improve battery life beyond just turning all the features off?
D) He's having serious stability issues at times. It happens that the device freezes when plugging it into USB or at different random times. At those times, the button lights would stay on with the screen being black. Long-pressing the power button fixes it. At different times it's a bit jerky. For example you would unlock the screen (gesture code) but then the screen would remain black for a few seconds and maybe the lock screen would show up again. Is this normal on android in general or has it to do with what Samsung pushed into its distro? Btw his mobile is branded by Orange and ships with some additional crap. Could this cause the problem? What's the easiest way of getting a fresh and simple Samsung or pure Android distro on it? I see there are lots of "mods", but I think we don't need any sort of mod, just a plain and stable OS.
Thanks.

To improve battery life, try turning off "Wireless location" in settings. However the battery life, even with various optimizations, is nowhere as good as iPhone 4.
The delays and stuttering you are experiencing is probably due to file system lag. Samsung uses RFS which is their own version of file system based on FAT32. Unfortunately that causes the phone to lag from time to time, usually when opening new applications or performing multiple I/O tasks. This can be fixed by installing one of the many lag fixes available. I use "One click lag fix" which you can download from the Market, but you will need to root the phone to apply it. There are several other alternatives which you can find in the "Development" forum.

Jamm59 said:
Try Egg 'n stone CalWidget. You can customice as You like. Size the Widget 4x1, 4x2, 4x3, 4x4......, choose a calander to view (MyCalendar, Google Calender.....), how long time ahead, layout and colors as You like, transparancy, and it's free.
I guess if Your father is a former iPhone user, he does not know how a widget work, try to explain to him.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly is google calendar, cant find it in the market. It would be great to have a calendar sync with my google account like my contacts as I've missed a couple of appointments when switching to a new phone and having no backup on calendar...

TB2 said:
Allright thanks everyone for the suggestions!
By the way... What is it with the "want an iphone, get an iphone" attitude in this forum.
C) Is it normal that the battery lasts about 1.5 days with no IM or SIP services running? Only a calendar and the shipped-with weather widget. Is there some hack to improve battery life beyond just turning all the features off?
D) He's having serious stability issues at times.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, glad CalenderPad worked out for your dad.
At times, android lovers seem to suffer from the Calimero effect
Your battery life could be a bit better, but not much. 1,5 days is considered normal, most of us have the goal to get through a full working day (and tinkering evening...) with one charge.
The stability issues are 90% Samsungs fault, because they did a less than perfect job on the software. HTC does a better job out of the box software wise. Indeed, a lagfix will most probably cure the symptoms, i have good experience with the Voodoo Lagfix. Instructions are easy, and can be found at project-voodoo.org.
To get rid of the Orange branding, you could flash an unbranded stock Samsung Rom from samfirmware.com (Link, you need to create an account for the link to work). The first time i flashed a ROM, it was nerving. But as long as you know how to get into recovery mode (and checked that Recovery Mode is available!) you should be fine. Just remember to disable/revert any lagfixes before flashing another ROM or Kernel to be safe.

2.2 Review

*** True Story ***
I am a member on Dell's community forum and have watched Dell's mouthpiece, Amy-B, post the lies and put up the smoke and mirrors regarding this for a while now. When she first announced that the update would begin on 11/15, I paid closer attention. By the end of the week when there was no update, I commented that users may have a potential class action suit. With that, I got a scathing email from Dell saying I violated their terms of use, some left handed subtle threats, and my post was deleted. I still laugh about that.
End True Story, my ongoing review below
I put 2.2 on last night and played with it for a little while before bed, then really started putting it to the test today. here's what's happened until now.
First, when I applied the update, it kept a lot of previous settings and applications rather than clean wiping. It also bypassed forcing me to login to google account, so when I tried to use the market, it couldn't. With that, I used my credentials to login to my google account and immediately started having some google calendar syncing error. It became a loop, each time asking me to report it, then asking me to force close the app, and then over and over the same thing. So I rebooted the streak, and it came up with the same exact issue not allowing me to do anything with it. I had to pull the battery to shut it down this time and when I get it all together to power up, I simply held the up/down volume keys and told it to do a factory reset.
The rom cooks itself into the streak as the factory install and 2.2 came up on the next boot, this time asking for google credentials. It worked that time, and I was ready to put the phone through it's motions.
Issues I've found
1. Voice Dialer via Bluetooth crashes each time I try to use it. It crashes to the point that it tells me to restart my phone. This is without fail.
2. swiping to unlock the phone, or pattern unlock are flaky. it will start then stop as if I've taken my finger off. I have to do it multiple times and crazy ways to make it work. Pattern lock same thing. Especially after coming out of my pocket... as if the heat from my body makes my finger not be recognized on the whole screen. This build makes the touchscreen no longer responsive as it was in 1.6... update, I've tested this over and over and over. yes, it seems to be the temperature, because if I blow on the screen to cool it, or something similar, the screen becomes instantly responsive to my touch. I never had this problem with 1.6 regardless of when I pulled it out of my pocket.
3. sometimes, changing screens gets choppy or laggy.
4. No widget bar or tray/drawer that allows you to turn BT or Wifi on or off. You have to get something from the market to do this (updated, this is available as a widget, I should open my eyes a bit)
5. Can't change the number of screens; can't add or subtract screens, stages, rooms, or whatever you choose to call it. You're stuck with 7, the center one being the default.
6. Multiple FC's for variety of reasons, many are while simply browsing the market. With that Microsoft-esque error reporting thing always popping up, I think they anticipated feeding garbage to the masses.
7. Have tried a few alternate launchers. Some are better than others, more functional etc.. .but no matter how weak an alternate launcher appears to be, they pretty much ALL beat StageUI
Likes
1. Have always liked the live wallpapers that we were introduced to in 2.1
2. landscape mode rights itself regardless of which side is facing up. could be a caveat since it puts the home/back/menu buttons upside down on the left instead of right with the hard buttons on the bottom, but still kind of cool nonetheless.
4. Support for Exchange is native and doesn't require additional software/applications.
the long and the short of it.. Dell is useless as an OS developer/tweaker and StageUI blows.
Samsung hit the homerun with it on its Galaxy S series. I was just at best buy, and the Galaxy Tab is pretty sweet but the price tag is ridiculous. Comparing 2.1 of my Vibrant with 2.2 on my streak, the Vibrant wins. no contest.
Day one of having the new 2.2 update on there and it's clear that this OS needs some patching already. I can only imagine what the people on O2 in the UK had to go through with their 2.1 fiasco
more to follow...

Here's a couple of things that I like in this build but before I list the items I wanted to address the comment you made about being able to turn of BT, wi-fi, GPS, brightness, etc. Under apps you can select Power Control and that will give you those options in a form of a widget. You do, however, will have to delete one of the Stage widgets to free up the room. Or you can just open the widget via apps. For my use, I currently prefer a different launcher than Stage. I am using the LauncherPro but there are a lot of other free choices like ADW, Zeam and so on.
Here are the things I like about this build:
1. Ability to hang up the call by pressing the power button ( you have to go to Settings-Accessibility-then check the mark for that option)
2. Radio feature - is absolutely great. The thing I don't like is the web ad that seems to pop every time I start listening to a station. If anyone knows how to turn/block that pop-up you would make me very happy )
3. Keyboard is awesome. Love the size, the options to switch to symbols, just love it. Haven't messed with SWYPE but I love the Andriod KB right now.
4. Flash - yes it works and it works well.
5. Speed - significantly faster. Whether navigating or downloading. Wi-fi speeds are faster than 1.6 or 2.1 I use to have.
6. Bluetooth volume is louder. This one was high on my priority list.
7. Music widget - looks nice and clean.
8. Camera works fine. I don't see an option for 720p though.
9. Security is beefed up by adding the option for PIN or password on top of the normal sliding lock. My slider works without any issues. But I prefer the pattern lock which also works great.
10. Haptic feedback can't be completely turned off, or you can turn off certain features alone like keyboard. I have mine off so the three main buttons don't vibrate any more. I don't think that option was available in the previous builds but I could be wrong.
These are the ones that I can think of right off the bat. I may add more as I remember them.

streak4m3 said:
Under apps you can select Power Control and that will give you those options in a form of a widget.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Long press home, then under widgets, then power control... thanks tons. that's what I was looking for.

So my quick review:
The good:
Loving the out-of-the-box Exchange support. Yay. Mobile e-mail/calendar/contacts without having to use Touchdown and the hassle of 'pushing' Touchdown contacts to the phone's contacts.
w00t. Ability to grab requiring apps from the market which require 2.x.
2.x features like portrait home screen, better multi-touch, etc.
The bad:
The Stage UI is just lame. Giving it a few days before I toss it in the bin.
I miss the old video playing app. I dunno what it was called, but there isn't even a shortcut for the new one. I installed ASTRO File Manager, browsed to my video directory and the file launched with some less-than-basic video player. What I liked about the old one was the order-by-date view which I have become used to but isn't the end of the world, the resume where you left off feature, and the delete from within the app feature. I guess Rock Player is the video player most people seem to be recommending, so I hope it has this.
For all its faults, I liked the old keyboard. I suspect it's still there, but I have yet to look. Using 2 (To/two/too) and 4 (For/four), etc in txt/IM/tweets now takes extra keypresses.
I never really knew how handy the Dell notification area was for 1.6. I'd turn off the cellular data and run Wi-Fi only, with just a couple of presses and it wouldn't interrupt the app I was in. Now I have to go to the home screen, press the menu button, and that's only to turn off wireless. I have yet to find the equivalent enable/disable for 3G.
Yet to check:
I've found the Streak's camera has taken pretty lame photos. I'm not photophile, but our 5 year old, 4MP camera takes better photos than the Streak. I've had the Streak set to the best quality (Lowest compression or whatever it was) and if you zoom in on a picture while viewing on a PC, it gets pixelated very quickly, while our 4MP pics are much nicer looking and they are twice the file size (4MP pic twice the file size of a 5MP pic?), so I'm interpreted this as 'The Streak takes crappy pics'. Been waiting to see what, if anything, the upgrade to 2.2 does for this.
So I guess it seems to lack polish, BUT, I think the reason for this is because it's actually near-to-bare Android, so I'm not going to criticise the roughness when the other option is more polish (Which one may or may not like) from Dell that means OS updates take 6+ months. I'm sure I'll be able to overcome anything I'm not liking with apps or through tweaking some options somewhere. Isn't this why we have Android?
But yeah. Stage is coming off pretty quick I suspect.
PS - You all might laugh: http://i.imgur.com/ULMLx.png

This build was far too laggy for my tastes. 1.6 was faster on some of the processes for me. I'm happily back on DJ Steve's build which is soooo much faster and has virtually the same features.
Sent from my Dell Streak using Tapatalk

Something I'm surprised is:
2.2 doesn't have separate sounds for incoming:
E-mail
Texts
Reminders
...I dunno if iOS does, but my old Windows Mobile device did. I'd like a different sounds for these events, as I'll respond to them differently. Now I don't know if it's a calendar reminder which I can't ignore, a text which I might ignore or an e-mail that I can ignore...

streak4m3 said:
8. Camera works fine. I don't see an option for 720p though.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got fooled by this. check 'Custom' for 720p. I can verify it is 720p too. pretty good quality.
Edit: Check it out. cant post link so you'll have to type the youtube code in manually
watch?v=Xm-jbOqIUiU
Enjoy! pretty sweet.
Format : MOV
Dimensions: 1280x720px
Video codec: MPEG4
Audio codec: AAC

htnprm said:
I never really knew how handy the Dell notification area was for 1.6. I'd turn off the cellular data and run Wi-Fi only, with just a couple of presses and it wouldn't interrupt the app I was in. Now I have to go to the home screen, press the menu button, and that's only to turn off wireless. I have yet to find the equivalent enable/disable for 3G.
PS - You all might laugh: http://i.imgur.com/ULMLx.png
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try "Quick Settings" which puts an icon in your status bar so when in an app, just drag down the status bar click on it and all your settings are there. Or, try "QuickDesk". Not sure if this is out of beta yet but its also an awesome app for doing exactly what you are talking about.....and much more.
Cant wait to get my Streak and to start rockin this 2.2. Would love to have vanilla 2.2 though.

as you are on 2.2 now , can you check something for me ?
- can flashled from camera be used as torchlight ?
- it should have usb tethering now, but does it also do wifi-tethering ?
- can the flashplayer play activescript ?
- is activesync (not exchange) working ?

da_jojo said:
as you are on 2.2 now , can you check something for me ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. I was wondering about many of these. Hopefully I get the first real sit-down with the phone sans-children jumping all over me, so I'll get back to you.

htnprm said:
Yeah. I was wondering about many of these. Hopefully I get the first real sit-down with the phone sans-children jumping all over me, so I'll get back to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cheers, appreciate it

da_jojo said:
as you are on 2.2 now , can you check something for me ?
- can flashled from camera be used as torchlight ?
- it should have usb tethering now, but does it also do wifi-tethering ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the led can work as a flashlight. I used the N1 Torch app and it worked fine.
Yes it does have wifi tethering.
I really miss the 1.6 menu bar/notification bar. Stage blows compared to the old ui. The swype keyboard is great. I have mixed feelings about the update mainly because of the ui changes.
Sent from my Dell Streak using Tapatalk

Spectre51 said:
Yes the led can work as a flashlight. I used the N1 Torch app and it worked fine.
Yes it does have wifi tethering.
I really miss the 1.6 menu bar/notification bar. Stage blows compared to the old ui. The swype keyboard is great. I have mixed feelings about the update mainly because of the ui changes.
Sent from my Dell Streak using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thnx for the info
yeah me too, but you can allways install one of these :
http://myandroidworld.in/posts/android-launchershome-replacement-apps

da_jojo said:
as you are on 2.2 now , can you check something for me ?
- can flashled from camera be used as torchlight ?
- it should have usb tethering now, but does it also do wifi-tethering ?
- can the flashplayer play activescript ?
- is activesync (not exchange) working ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes, I use StreakLight from Market (free)
2. Yes, there´s an option for this and I checked it, and it seems to work. But I haven´t connected a device yet.
3. How can I check this?
4. Dunno, cause I use Exchange and some Imap

gavelis said:
1. Yes, I use StreakLight from Market (free)
2. Yes, there´s an option for this and I checked it, and it seems to work. But I haven´t connected a device yet.
3. How can I check this?
4. Dunno, cause I use Exchange and some Imap
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thnx
ad 3 : http://www.playerversion.com/ and http://jrgraphix.net/research/flash-dock-mx-2004.php and http://flowplayer.org/plugins/streaming/rtmp.html

da_jojo said:
as you are on 2.2 now , can you check something for me ?
- can flashled from camera be used as torchlight ?
- it should have usb tethering now, but does it also do wifi-tethering ?
- can the flashplayer play activescript ?
- is activesync (not exchange) working ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright. Others have answered, but I'll pass on what I know. If you're talking Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) not talking to an Exchange server, a la Hotmail, I'm getting a "cannot connect to server" error... My EAS to work's Exchange is working flawlessly though.
And USB/Wi-fi tethering are working grand. I'm tethered by Wi-fi as I write this, so I can pass my 3G USB modem on to a colleague. w00t.
I am a little concerned about battery life. I haven't done that much with the phone today, unlike a normal day where I might squeeze in a few calls, texts, tweets, bit of web browsing, and three+ hours of video and have the battery at 20% at the end of the day. I'm at 20% left now, and I haven't done any of those things.

thnx
have you tried hotmail through POP3 ? it worked with k9 client.
what i meant is activesync on windows 7 64bit with office 2010 32bit.
yeah batterylife concerns me also. i have a habit of draining these in godspeed (A)

You can create a shortcut to the wifi & networks popup from launcherpro activities.
1. Long press on the desktop bsckground
2. Select shortcut
3. Select Activities
4. Select wireless & networks
You now have access to the old dell popup to disable data, 3g etc.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App

this is exactly what people where missing , thnx

rodjordan said:
You now have access to the old dell popup to disable data, 3g etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kinda. You still have to go from the app you're in out to the home screen, turn it on/off, and then go back to your app. But thanks for the info.

[ROMs] Captivate Touch (no phone) v3.1 - Update 12/28 WORKING

******NEW THREAD*******
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2347220
If you want to take up this or a similar project on your own, I will provide you with instrucations on what to modify. HOWEVER, you must get permission first from each Rom Chef, as these are their works and we are simply modifying for our own use.
Captivate Touch:
GB via CM7 is working very well. Camera is functional and I am testing the GPS. See notes below. If you are going to install GAPPS, make sure you remove the setup wizard apk from the zip file.
I am running Launcher7 on mine so that my toddler can easily see her books and games on the launcher screen. Will post screens later.
Changelog:
3.1: CM7 based Touch. Working.
3.0: GB Fail, could not get camera working on any GB rom.
2.0: Fixed GPS, removed mms, added dialer back for secret code access.
1.1: Removed modem lib (broke GPS)
1.0: Removed no signal notification
I take no responsibility... yada yada yada. What you do to your phone is your business, don't blame me.
First off, these ROMs are not my creation they belong to the chefs that cooked them or the devs that built them. All I did was modify them to suit my needs. If you like these ROMs, please buy them a beer and support future development. They have endorsed this project and for that I thank them. The camera apk in the froyo version is GizmoDroid's modded camera as the stock and hacked camera from SGS Tools did not function properly.
The goal of this project was to a Captivate Rom completely devoid of any cell phone functions. Why? Well, my job required me to switch to another OS, but I had grown dependent on my Android apps. As such I have modified these ROMs to give us a "Touch-like" device, devoid of any cell phone functions, and with amazing battery life.
Yes, I know that you can just put the phone in Airplane mode, remove them sim card, disable the data network etc, but phone functions still remain and its a not a complete nor elegant experience.
What works:
Testing, but so far everything but the phone
What doesn't:
Some lock screens display (no service)
Install Instructions:
I have provided links to each ROM's original thread. Please follow the instructions there.
So here you go:
Captivate Touch v2.0, Cognition Edition - KB1 2.2 by DesignGears
Based on Cognition 4.4.6
Original Rom Thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=964583
Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L6631IPP
Captivate Touch v3.1, Cyanogen Edition by CyanogenMod
Based on Cyanogen 7.1
Original Rom Thread: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Samsung_Captivate:_Full_Update_Guide
Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=438L2MQU
If you want to install GAPPS, I recommend removing the setup wizard APK from the .zip as it was giving me problems.
Confirmed working.
Thanks to:
The CyanogenMod Team
DAGr8
DesignGears
Cezar
MikeyMike01 and ChanceM
garringm for pointing me in the right direction on the null signal notifications
Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Awesome. I've thought about getting a second Captivate just for this exact purpose. I like the idea of the iTouch but I'm not a big Apple fan. I like being able to expand my storage and replace a failed battery.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App

Hey! Good thinking, Samsung Captivate android PMP!!!
As of now i need it as a phone, but when i will get the Galaxy s2 will try this out.
If i use this now, can i flash back other Phone roms again [wan't to flash anything and everything]

anishmahadikz said:
Hey! Good thinking, Samsung Captivate android PMP!!!
As of now i need it as a phone, but when i will get the Galaxy s2 will try this out.
If i use this now, can i flash back other Phone roms again [wan't to flash anything and everything]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, although Cognition uses Voodoo lagfix and I always play it safe by flashing back to stock before installing a new custom rom.

Cool!! Definitely trying this out!

I don't know if you can add it in but on some roms, ie cm7, there is the previous, play/pause, and next for the media controls on the lock screen which would be probably the 2nd best feature of the touch Rom other than the no phone part
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App

little8020 said:
I don't know if you can add it in but on some roms, ie cm7, there is the previous, play/pause, and next for the media controls on the lock screen which would be probably the 2nd best feature of the touch Rom other than the no phone part
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you can try DAGr8's rom, it has 9 lockscreens with media controls, also if i am not wrong, all the 3 roms here have media contols in lockscreen

oh wow. this is a great idea! props!

I'm all for what you are trying to accomplish but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this, what does it matter if you still have the phone (that still has the phones functionality) because of your company unless it was a company phone, but if thats the case then why are you modding it to only work as a smaller tablet. This makes me assume that you were issued a company phone other than your cappy? I also assume 2 other things here, you still need it to work wifi and possibly still need a data signal or is this what you need gone al together. to remove the signal bar at the top look in the theme thread about modding the notification bar, I accidently did this one time, I would have to poke around but I manage I could do it again.
But for whatever reason you want to do this have you tried porting a galaxy tab rom to this by chance, is it even possible, I wouldn't know why it wouldn't be possible.

garringm said:
I'm all for what you are trying to accomplish but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this, what does it matter if you still have the phone (that still has the phones functionality) because of your company unless it was a company phone, but if thats the case then why are you modding it to only work as a smaller tablet. This makes me assume that you were issued a company phone other than your cappy? I also assume 2 other things here, you still need it to work wifi and possibly still need a data signal or is this what you need gone al together. to remove the signal bar at the top look in the theme thread about modding the notification bar, I accidently did this one time, I would have to poke around but I manage I could do it again.
But for whatever reason you want to do this have you tried porting a galaxy tab rom to this by chance, is it even possible, I wouldn't know why it wouldn't be possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I had to purchase a non-android device for work and do not want to pay for multiple lines and data plans. The goal was to continue to use the many apps I purchased, improve battery life, and create a more complete expereince. Simply removing the SIM card leave the cell radio software components intact, giving you the emergency call option notification, the missing sim notification, etc. By removing all of the components associated with the phone (except the lost signal notification - sigh) the experience feels "complete" and intentional, rather than hacked together.
If you can figure out how to remove the notification bar that would be great. I am not a developer, coder etc, just a tinkerer who isn't afraid of bricking his phone. As for the Galazy Tab rom, I would not know where to begin.
The ultimate goal will be to port the ROMs from the Galaxy S WIFI 4 and 5, but in the meantime, I will settle for their native apps missing from the captivate.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/01/samsungs-galaxy-s-wifi-4-0-and-5-0-now-rolling-out-to-countries/

Interesting..
I see where you are going with this. Two questions; Does removing all phone functions render wifi useless? Does doing this save significant battery life over airplane mode/no sim?
Thanks!

neubauej said:
Interesting..
I see where you are going with this. Two questions; Does removing all phone functions render wifi useless? Does doing this save significant battery life over airplane mode/no sim?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not tested battery life compared to airplane mode, but Standby on the Cognition variant seems to be 5-7 days.
Wifi, BT, and GPS all work perfectly.

For now as a "hack" to get the look your going for you could possibly edit the stat_sys_signal_null.png to a blank image maybe that will work for you, it will most likely be in SystemUI.apk in /system/app if I had time I would do it myself but issues at home will prevent me from playing with this tonight
EDIT: Sorry for some reason I thought you were on a 2.3 rom, Personally I would suggest you try this with DAGr8 symply galaxy, I just removed SystemUI.apk from it reboot and now have no notification bar at all, but everything seems to be functioniong correctly.
With your 2.2 ROM you will most likely find the null signal png in /framework/framework-res.apk in the res/drawable-hdpi may have v4 on there too.

garringm said:
For now as a "hack" to get the look your going for you could possibly edit the stat_sys_signal_null.png to a blank image maybe that will work for you, it will most likely be in SystemUI.apk in /system/app if I had time I would do it myself but issues at home will prevent me from playing with this tonight
EDIT: Sorry for some reason I thought you were on a 2.3 rom, Personally I would suggest you try this with DAGr8 symply galaxy, I just removed SystemUI.apk from it reboot and now have no notification bar at all, but everything seems to be functioniong correctly.
With your 2.2 ROM you will most likely find the null signal png in /framework/framework-res.apk in the res/drawable-hdpi may have v4 on there too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try that tonight. Thanks!

garringm said:
For now as a "hack" to get the look your going for you could possibly edit the stat_sys_signal_null.png to a blank image maybe that will work for you, it will most likely be in SystemUI.apk in /system/app if I had time I would do it myself but issues at home will prevent me from playing with this tonight
EDIT: Sorry for some reason I thought you were on a 2.3 rom, Personally I would suggest you try this with DAGr8 symply galaxy, I just removed SystemUI.apk from it reboot and now have no notification bar at all, but everything seems to be functioniong correctly.
With your 2.2 ROM you will most likely find the null signal png in /framework/framework-res.apk in the res/drawable-hdpi may have v4 on there too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to suggest the same - simply replace the signal bar images with blank/100% transparent images.

After playing around with it today thats gonna be your best option. Yoi really dont want to remove your bar altogether this hinders your ability to mount to pc or to use debugger
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

RKight said:
Awesome. I've thought about getting a second Captivate just for this exact purpose. I like the idea of the iTouch but I'm not a big Apple fan. I like being able to expand my storage and replace a failed battery.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If u plan on buying an entirely new phone why not just buy a galaxy player if it's out. Its essentially an itouch
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App

I love this idea. A well developed platform used as a simple media device. It'll blow the doors off anything available designed for that purpose!
Insert GB for bonus points.

I think this would work so much better with ginger and ginger would work so much better as this
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

h0ckey10 said:
If u plan on buying an entirely new phone why not just buy a galaxy player if it's out. Its essentially an itouch
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess he can unlock the second captivate, use it as pmp. And use it as phone when travelling abroad by going back to the favorite rom. Well, this cannot be achieved on itouch or on Samsung Galaxy pmp.

[CM9 beta] Tips & Customization Discussion

Tips & Customization Discussion Thread
CM9 beta1: Android 4.0.4 for Samsung Epic 4G​
This thread is ONLY to discuss issues related to best practices and tips of configuration options, helpful add-ons, utilities and apps on CM9 for Epic 4G. The best tips are regularly summarized in the official Epic CM9 Customization Guide. Please read the guide before posting to this thread.
CM9 Discussion Threads
User Support, Questions & Answers Thread
Battery Optimization Discussion Thread
Tips & Customization Discussion Thread
Development Discussion Thread

I highly recommend doing the battery optimization first before customizing the settings.
First thing you want to do is change the default notification from Silent to something else so you hear when you have emails, texts, etc.
There is a lot of stuff in the optimization guide to help you get things started and set-up. I like going into the Messaging app and have it not only divide texts into 160 character blocks but also number them so people know the reading order as they aren't always sent and received contiguously.
I think that is a good start for now!

Being a CM9 user since day 1 I figured out that you will NEVER want to use an app form the market which allows you to change the frequencies of your phone. I found out that it drains battery EVEN MORE then when using the built in one under Performance.
And I highly recommend that you get Juice Defender. Ultimate is best because it allows you to choose what apps you want to have data turned on for.
And if you monkey around with Voodoo control I'm sure you'll find something to your likes.
Screen Filter from the market is also a great tool. If you think the lowest brightness is to much and want it darker then use that tool.
I recently learned that custom kernels are not recommended.

prochargedls2 said:
Being a CM9 user since day 1 I figured out that you will NEVER want to use an app form the market which allows you to change the frequencies of your phone. I found out that it drains battery EVEN MORE then when using the built in one under Performance.
And I highly recommend that you get Juice Defender. Ultimate is best because it allows you to choose what apps you want to have data turned on for.
And if you monkey around with Voodoo control I'm sure you'll find something to your likes.
Screen Filter from the market is also a great tool. If you think the lowest brightness is to much and want it darker then use that tool.
I recently learned that custom kernels are not recommended.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to know how this is possible. I mean, if you're undervolting (throwing less power to run a specific speed) I would like to know how this actually drains battery quicker. It simply goes against logic.
Not saying I don't believe you, but I would like it explained why this is true.

CWM flashable Sprint Visual Voicemail
http://epiccm.blogspot.com/2012/03/customization-guide.html
Sprint Visual Voicemail now works on CM9, meaning we now have three options for visual voicemail on Epic! Read the Customization Guide for CWM5 flashable .zip and setup instructions if you want to use it. Be aware that there are currently glitches.

wtogami said:
http://epiccm.blogspot.com/2012/03/customization-guide.html
Sprint Visual Voicemail now works on CM9, meaning we now have three options for visual voicemail on Epic! Read the Customization Guide for CWM5 flashable .zip and setup instructions if you want to use it. Be aware that there are currently glitches.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't get it to work at all. It installs and looks like its all there but I've left 4 voice messages for myself in the past hour and nothing.
Sent from my MTD Epic 4G SGS using Tapatalk

edfunkycold said:
I can't get it to work at all. It installs and looks like its all there but I've left 4 voice messages for myself in the past hour and nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you run the app once? It provisions the first time you run it, and tells you with Toast messages.

wtogami said:
Did you run the app once? It provisions the first time you run it, and tells you with Toast messages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it did all of that as with any tw rom when you do fresh flash and set up phone. I even just for nostalgic reasons played the two set up messages. But I then used my wife's phone and called myself and left several voice messages but nothing comes through the app. I read everywhere people having success with this and I'm struggling. I even tried sending the [email protected] message and it looks like it sent but nothing happens.
Edit: I am getting the text messages alerting me that o have a VM but the app is not downloading the messages. I still have to dial #1 on dialer to dial my voice mail.
Sent from my MTD Epic 4G SGS using Tapatalk

wtogami said:
Did you run the app once? It provisions the first time you run it, and tells you with Toast messages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get a 9016 message with provisioning successful but if there was a toast message it was so quick I missed it but I don't think there was one. Does this mean that I need to delete data for the app and try again or does this mean it provisioned but like edfunkycold I too get the text messages about new VM but the app doesn't download them. In fact the messages aren't on sprints VM system like the app told it to delete the message as if it had downloaded, even though there is no message in the app to listen to.

hayzooos said:
I'd like to know how this is possible. I mean, if you're undervolting (throwing less power to run a specific speed) I would like to know how this actually drains battery quicker. It simply goes against logic.
Not saying I don't believe you, but I would like it explained why this is true.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well its mainly for those who leave it in their pocket for long periods of time. Because if you have apps like twitter, facebook, or anything like that they run in the background and the cpu will require more power to run them all. Now if you used an app from the market to control them it would drain battery because it requires battery to run apps in the background and that app you supposedly have from the market will run in the background, thus causing battery to drain even if you're under volting it.
If that wasn't very clear tell me.
Sent from my Epic with a lil' ice cream on it

StoneRyno said:
I get a 9016 message with provisioning successful but if there was a toast message it was so quick I missed it but I don't think there was one. Does this mean that I need to delete data for the app and try again or does this mean it provisioned but like edfunkycold I too get the text messages about new VM but the app doesn't download them. In fact the messages aren't on sprints VM system like the app told it to delete the message as if it had downloaded, even though there is no message in the app to listen to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem here, except I dont think that mine are getting deleted, cuz I can still call my VM and listen to them. But for the life of me I can not get the VVM to work, I have tried absolutely everything I can think of. Please if anyone can figure out what the deal here is, it would be greatly appreciated. The loss of VVM was pretty much the only thing I didn't like about This CM9 for Epic, since I flashed the alpha 1.
Edit: Just an update: when I use Sprint VVM to compose a message to myself, to test send and receive functions, It sends the VM to me just fine. I get the 9016 text and its on my VM but It still does not show up in the Sprint VVM app.

dhadlock said:
Edit: Just an update: when I use Sprint VVM to compose a message to myself, to test send and receive functions, It sends the VM to me just fine. I get the 9016 text and its on my VM but It still does not show up in the Sprint VVM app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly how I tried to test it except the message I composed and successfully sent was not on VM when I call in after getting the 9016 message saying I got that VM. This is what leads me to believe that sprint VVM is failing to download the message and deletes it from the VM system as if it had.

prochargedls2 said:
Well its mainly for those who leave it in their pocket for long periods of time. Because if you have apps like twitter, facebook, or anything like that they run in the background and the cpu will require more power to run them all. Now if you used an app from the market to control them it would drain battery because it requires battery to run apps in the background and that app you supposedly have from the market will run in the background, thus causing battery to drain even if you're under volting it.
If that wasn't very clear tell me.
Sent from my Epic with a lil' ice cream on it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see where you're coming from, I think. So you're saying Voltage Control, for example, would be running more frequently if I have a lot of apps that update in the background becuase in addition to those apps running, VC would then have to run more to produce more power to run the other apps.
I guess I was under the impression that VC would run at boot (however you have it set up) but it wouldn't continue to run once the settings were in place. For example, I never see Voltage Control as an app listed in the running apps or or cached processes for that matter either.
So then my question becomes if it's not an active running app, and it's not a cached app either, how is it draining more battery?

hayzooos said:
I see where you're coming from, I think. So you're saying Voltage Control, for example, would be running more frequently if I have a lot of apps that update in the background becuase in addition to those apps running, VC would then have to run more to produce more power to run the other apps.
I guess I was under the impression that VC would run at boot (however you have it set up) but it wouldn't continue to run once the settings were in place. For example, I never see Voltage Control as an app listed in the running apps or or cached processes for that matter either.
So then my question becomes if it's not an active running app, and it's not a cached app either, how is it draining more battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont think it does. i never see it as a running app, and it doesnt show up as using the battery in battery stats, so i think this guy is misinformed on that aspect. if youre using undervolted settings with the ondemand governor, you probably wont be using more battery than on stock. im in know way absolutely sure of this and im not a dev or computer genius or anything like that, but im pretty sure the battery problems that DO occur are on the custom kernel side. since a custom kernel is needed to overclock and undervolt, and some of the 3rd party kernels have had some battery draining issues, like wake lock issues and stuff, i can see where one would get the impression that using an oc/uv app might be causing battery draining issues. i myself am using the shadow kernel which oc's to 1400 mhz and at first was getting terrible battery status. but after messing around with a few settings, reading up on tips for saving battery, and tweaking juice defender ultimate to my liking, im getting exceptional battery life. almost as good as the stock kernel. i would have dealt with a bigger difference in battery drain for voodoo color anyways. not to mention, the added bonuses of being able to oc/uv. im in no way trying to knock the stock kernel, my preference is just that, my preference.
as far as a custom kernel not being recommended...thats easy, its also not recommended to root your phone or flash a custom ROM. nuff said, right?
p.s. while voltage control does NOT show up on my battery stats, juice defender ultimate DOES. VC does NOT seem to be running in the background at all times, but JD definitely IS.

dhadlock said:
Same problem here, except I dont think that mine are getting deleted, cuz I can still call my VM and listen to them. But for the life of me I can not get the VVM to work, I have tried absolutely everything I can think of. Please if anyone can figure out what the deal here is, it would be greatly appreciated. The loss of VVM was pretty much the only thing I didn't like about This CM9 for Epic, since I flashed the alpha 1.
Edit: Just an update: when I use Sprint VVM to compose a message to myself, to test send and receive functions, It sends the VM to me just fine. I get the 9016 text and its on my VM but It still does not show up in the Sprint VVM app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So after a big long ordeal (accidentally flashed mtd over bml and soft bricked my phone for a day lol ) I finally got it fixed with odin. Then I managed to get back to a working backup that had a working version of Sprint VVM and backed up the data with titanium backup then got my cm9 beta 0 restored and flashed a fresh version of SVVM then went in and made sure it was set in the dialer settings and then restored the app data and the provisioned and still no damn luck.

beltsnspoons said:
p.s. while voltage control does NOT show up on my battery stats, juice defender ultimate DOES. VC does NOT seem to be running in the background at all times, but JD definitely IS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is because VC loads the custom changes at boot time and is no longer needed. Where as JD is a service that performs periodic actions based on how the user setup JD. In essence JD will consume a slight bit of battery but the increase in savings will outweigh it's consumption. If anyone would like I can try and determine JDs exact usage if it registers in any of the available tools for checking apps battery/CPU usage. As far as I'm aware it does not show up in androids battery info section commonly used to show battery usage in screen shots here on the forum. I of course would post those findings if any in the battery thread.

For those who can't enable the native HOTSPOT as reported on issue 148, try side-loading android-wifi-tether.
With AWT, I can have AP infrastructure hotspot using netd, with WPA2 encryption and multiple Android devices connected. The trick is to configure the device profile as an Epic 4G Touch, Galaxy or any Samsung device that shows netd option in the Setup-Method. Optionally, turn off driver force-reload to get rid of a harmless error message (works fine either way).
A nice thing about AWT is it shows the hotspot real time, accumulative bandwidth usage, and if you don't need to use AP infrastructure mode, you can even lower the ad-hoc mode transmit power for lower battery use.
It also has MAC-based client access control, and on TW ROM, it would give hidden SSID option.
(sorry for posting this multiple times; just thought I'd share my finding on all the relevant threads.

ok what sound manager app is better....
i have bought voodoo
I know that DSP comes with cm9...

I use Voodoo (paid version) so I can limit the headset volume on my kids' Epics.

FYI: For those of you that are having issues with VVM, are you using GoSMS? If so, it's been posted in the CM9 tips and tricks thread that GoSMS and Sprint VVM dont play nicely with one another.
Freeze or Uninstall GoSMS and your VM's should start trickling in!!!
Here's the link to the post I mentioned:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23817393&postcount=650